Long-Lasting Persistence of Zika Virus in Semen

To the Editor—We recently reported a case of male-to-female sexual transmission of Zika virus (ZIKV) [1]. The index case returned from Brazil where he experienced fever, asthenia, myalgia, chills, and a cutaneous rash from 7 February 2016 to his arrival in France on 10 February 2016. ZIKV RNA was evidenced by reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) in urine samples obtained 16 and 24 days after the onset of symptoms with a viral count of 4 × 103 and 2.1 × 104 copies/mL, respectively. Semen samples obtained on day 18 and on day 24 tested positive for ZIKV RNA by RT-PCR with a high viral load of 2.9 × 108 and 3.5 × 107 copies/mL, respectively. ZIKV was isolated by means of culture from these 2 semen samples. We report the further follow-up of ZIKV RNA in urine and semen in this patient. Urine and semen samples obtained on 27 April 2016 (day 80) tested positive with a viral count of 2.4 × 102 and 1.2 × 103 copies/mL, respectively. ZIKV could not be isolated by means of culture from this semen sample. Urine and semen samples collected on 10 May 2016 (day 93) tested negative.